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The New Toyota Sequoia TRD Pro Is the Death of the Land Cruiser

Toyota announced today the Sequoia would finally get the TRD treatment. Seeing as how the SUV is 18 years old, it’s about damn time. Toyota’s biggest conundrum now is justifying the modernLand Cruiser’s existence next to the now-updated luxe off-roader Sequoia.

New for 2020, the Sequoia TRD Pro gets a suspension lift and upgrades courtesy of Fox Shocks, forged alloy wheels, new LED headlights, a TRD skid plate, cast aluminum running boards and a roof rack. Pulling everything along is the same 5.7-Liter found in the Land Cruiser, good for 381 horsepower and 401 lb-ft torque. The current-generation Sequoia is nearly a decade-old, so saying these upgrades are overdue is an understatement, but it’s an obvious move considering Toyota’s current performance renaissance.

Now more than ever, the Land Cruiser doesn’t make sense among Toyota’s current lineup. If you want an SUV for off-roading, the smart buy is the 4Runner. If you’d rather have a luxury family-hauler, the Sequoia is the way to go. For how expensive it is, and for what it offers, the current Land Cruiser is essentially obsolete.

At $85,000 — also decade-old — the current Land Cruiser already had a tough time justifying itself next to the arguably just-as-luxurious standard Sequoia. Now that the Sequoia TRD Pro is en route, you have two choices of luxurious off-roaders that are near identical. One – the Sequoia – just saves you $30,000.

With that said, Toyota didn’t mention pricing for the Sequoia TRD Pro or when it’ll be available. But, based on the price jump over the base 4Runner and what the Tundra TRD Pro goes for, expect the more rugged Sequoia to take on a $10,000 premium and land near the $50,000 mark. Once it hits the road, it’ll be interesting to get all of Toyota’s top overlanding SUVs lined up for a good old fashion sibling rivalry shoot out.